Just Us
by waddiwasiwitch
Summary: Severus and Lily are best friends and every summer is special because it is just them.


**Disclaimer: I do not own the HP universe. I just play pretend with it.**

**Author's note: This is based before the events of SWM. Please read and review.**

**Just us**

Every summer a little bit of me dies when I board the Hogwarts Express to head back to school. As much as I miss my friends from the Gryffindor common room, every year I find myself wondering whether the next summer will be different. Summer is the time when I can spend every day with my best friend and just be without the hassle and judgements of others. Yet every year there seems to be a little more distance between us as we strive to maintain our friendship in spite of the disapproval of our respective house mates. Then the summer comes along and all our differences and the prejudices of school no longer matter for the next few weeks until the term begins once more.

It was all so simple in the beginning. I will never forget the summer I first became friends with Severus Snape. The first time I met Severus he called me a "witch" and little did I know how right he was. I saw him the following day and took the opportunity to ask him what he meant and from then on we were inseparable. Severus: what an odd name for such an unusual boy and I mean unusual in the very best sense of the word.

"You are a witch!"

At first I found his words offensive but I admit I was intrigued. It could not be true and yet I found myself watching out for an opportunity to question him the next time I was away from Petunia's watchful eye.

"Hi" I said shyly approaching the black haired boy. He looked shocked that I was speaking to him and even looked over his shoulder in case I was speaking to someone behind him. His mouth was open a little. I giggled and offered him my hand.

"Lily Evans and you are Snape right?"

"Yes" he said nodding.

"And..." I pressed. He did not respond just looked at me quizzically.

"Your first name? You call me Lily and I call you..."

"Severus" he replied. This time it was my turn to be puzzled. What an extraordinary name! However I quickly recovered.

"What did you mean when you said I was a witch yesterday? Tell me everything!" I demanded.

He did and from then on Severus Snape was my best friend. Unfortunately while I gained a best friend I found myself losing an old one. Petunia never seemed to like him much and the feeling was mutual. One summer we had a particularly nasty fight and I was crying when Severus came over to my house for his daily visit.

"Lily" he spoke uncertainly. I looked up from my crouched postion with tears in my eyes.

"I want to show you something!".

He pulled me to my feet and practically dragged me over to the Snape house.

"Severus, what are you doing?"

My tears were now forgotten in curiosity as Severus pulled the spare key from under the flowerpot. We walked inside and he gestured to a chair for me to sit.

"Wait!" he ordered as he went upstairs. I could not sit and being an inquisitive child I started looking about the sitting room. The house was not very homely like the Evans'. There was something lonely and neglected about it. He returned in a few minutes with a brown cardboard box. He placed it carefully on the table.

"Be careful. This is my mother's. She must never know" he said as he opened the box.

I peered inside wondering what inspired such secrecy and I gasped.

"Is that her wand?" I exclaimed and my best friend nodded.

"Does it work?" I asked.

"Of course it works." he replied impatiently.

"Well let's see it then" I said as I went to pull it from the box.

I examined it carefully. This was no ordinary stick. It was clearly a wand with its engravings and although the wand looked well-used it was very well cared for.

"Do you know any spells?" I asked excitedly.

"I know them in theory but it is a very different thing to do them in practice. Besides we are not meant to do magic until we go to school. I have told you this before"

"Unless it was an accident, right?" I said mischieviously.

He shook his head emphatically.

"Please" I begged giving him my winning smile. Eventually he relented.

"Fine but we are putting the wand away straight after."

Severus took a cup from the press and spoke in a strange incantation. I watched in awe as the teacup sprouted four legs, a long tail and whiskers.

"Finite Incantatum" Severus shouted before the mouse could do anything other than twitch its whiskers. The mouse was a cup once again. Severus looked just as surprised as I did.

"Wow" I breathed, "I guess it is really true!"

Severus just nodded and made to stow away his mother's wand.

"Can I try, Sev?" I asked quietly.

But before Severus could say anything we heard the front door burst open.

"Oh my God, the dementors!" I cried hysterically.

"No not the Ministry! I am in so much trouble" Severus moaned dropping the wand.

But both of us were wrong. It was no magical person that had caught us.

"You two are in big trouble now. You know you are not meant to be in here alone" Petunia smiled triumphantly.

The relief was too much for me and I roared with laughter. I could see Severus out of the corner of my eye trying to stifle the laughter as well. Petunia on the other hand was just going redder with anger.

"What are you doing in here anyway? Having a tea party?" she mocked picking up the cup. Just then I surreptitiously picked up the wand repeated the incantation Sev had said. The cup did not sprout whiskers this time but it did gain hair and a tail. Petunia shrieked and the flung the mouse cup at me. She tore out the door screaming and the pair of us dissolved into laughter. A few moments later Severus sobered.

"You should not have done that! You are not supposed to do magic in front of muggles. It is one of the fundamental laws in the wizarding world!"

I just looked at him smiling and he conceded "But it was funny."

Once we started going to Hogwarts the summers were of an extra special significance. We are just Lily and Severus again not the Gryffindor muggleborn or the Slytherin oddball. We share muggle music and fight over which Beatle was the most talented as well as whether Slytherin or Gyrffindor is the best. Our favourite way to spend a rainy afternoon involves poring over our textbooks from Hogwarts. We are both nerds at heart and have a thirst for knowledge. We have spent many a rainy evening debating over potions homework. These debates sometimes lead to experiments in brewing. While we usually wait until we arrived back in school to brew there have been occasions when we undertook some illicit brewing.

I sneezed for the umpteenth time.

"For goodness sake Lily" snapped Severus as he gave up reading his large tome on potions that Slughorn, the Potions professor leant him.

"I hope you catch a cold and I promise you won't get any sympathy from me!" I replied irritably.

Severus looked at me condescendingly.

"That is what you get Lily when you run about in the rain! There is no fear of me being that dim witted" he said sneering. I stuck out my tongue.

"I wish I had some Pepper-up potion!" I moaned.

"Right, that is it!" he said standing up, "I can't read with you in this mood. Let us make some. I am sure that I have the ingredients somewhere. Maybe then I can get some peace."

"You were just dying for an excuse to brew!" I said punching him playfully on the arm. His mouth twitched upwards as tried but failed to glare at me.

Summer never lasts for long though and inevitably school beckons once again. Besides it is not as if I do not enjoy school. I relish both the academic and the social aspects that the school has to offer. I have a large circle of friends whom I adore but it is Severus that is my best friend. Being in different houses reduces our time together and we do not spend as much time as I would like together. While Severus may not like my friends much it is nothing compared to the way I detest some of the people he hangs out with. Although the summer is the traditional ceasefire period I know that come September there will be arguments again about the company he keeps and he will lecture me about the evils of James Potter and his gang of miscreants. However once next summer comes all the tension will be forgotten again for a few glorious months and we will just be Lily and Severus.

THE END

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this story. It was one I enjoyed writing. Please review.


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